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Thousands of phone lines damaged by bushfires in Australia

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-02-09 14:55

CANBERRA-- The worst bushfires in Australian history were still raging in Victoria and had caused widespread damage to communications infrastructure, Australia's largest telecommunication company Telstra said on Monday.

Related readings:  Australian fire zone a crime scene  128 dead as wildfire continues to ravage Victoria

Telstra said while the full extent of the damage would not be known for some time, thousands of telephone and broadband connections were down throughout affected areas, Telstra said.

Telstra chief executive Sol Trujillo said extra Telstra staff had been deployed from across the country and were working as quickly as possible to fix damaged network and restore essential services.

"Our support staff are on the ground across all the fire- affected areas, including in the emergency relief centers, to help get people connected," he said.

"We are also bringing in more staff from across the country to restore our services and help our customers wherever we can," he added.

Telstra also announced details of a relief package, which includes free call diversions, mobile calls charged at fixed-line rates, and free reconnections for those affected by the fires.